The invention relates to electrical power generation.
Solid oxide fuel cells are extremely efficient generators of electricity. Within a typical solid oxide fuel cell, hydrogen gas and heated air are electrochemically reacted to generate electricity. Thermal efficiencies have been known to approach sixty percent. The byproduct of the electrochemical reaction is water. Thus, not only are fuel cells efficient generators of electricity, they are very clean generators of electricity.
Despite these advantages, solid oxide fuel cells have their limitations for certain applications. For example, solid oxide fuel cells cannot satisfy immediate demands for power. Therefore, they alone cannot provide power to systems such as electric vehicles, which require boost power during acceleration. Solid oxide fuel cells also waste thermal energy. The electrochemical reaction inside the fuel cell heats the air to temperatures of about 800.degree. C. In many cases exhaust air from the solid oxide fuel cell is cooled, but heat removed from the exhaust air is not used efficiently.